Republicans divided on debt ceiling strategy

Republicans are divided over whether to raise the debt ceiling before the August recess, with senators preferring to act soon and members of the more conservative House reluctant to take the contentious vote before the break.

Senate Republicans have suddenly found themselves in a holding pattern on health care with Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) out recovering from surgery. In the meantime, they may turn their attention to the nation’s nearly $20 trillion borrowing authority, which needs to be increased this fall to avoid a devastating default.

Senate GOP leaders might attach a debt ceiling increase to the veterans bill — though no final decision has been made and discussions are still largely at the staff level.

Either way, Senate Republicans have made clear they prefer raising the debt ceiling before leaving for recess the second week of August.

“We’ll probably deal with that before we leave,” said Majority Whip John Cornyn of Texas, the No. 2 Senate Republican.

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The House has other plans. GOP leaders and staff have vowed for weeks to raise the debt ceiling before the “X date” of default but also downplayed the possibility that the date would fall before the summer break.

The Congressional Budget Office’s recent announcement that the nation won’t bump up against the debt ceiling until early- to mid-October has only emboldened House Republicans to wait until September.

If Senate Republicans insist on acting before recess, however, they would need to send a bill to the House in the next two weeks, before the lower chamber breaks for recess at the end of July.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has told Republicans he will not keep them in town in August at all — unless the Senate sends them an Obamacare repeal bill.

McCarthy said nothing about staying in session to address the debt ceiling.

The reality is that striking a debt agreement will likely take much longer than two weeks. Republicans will need Democrats to carry the legislation because conservatives won’t vote for a debt ceiling increase without steep spending cuts — a proposition at which Democrats scoff.

Senate Democrats have also suggested they may play hard to get, demanding policy changes for their support. That all but ensures a multiweek negotiation process.

There’s also been talk about striking a bipartisan budget deal to raise federal spending caps along with a debt limit boost. In the House, more than 20 members of the moderate Tuesday Group — the very members House GOP leadership will lean on to help pass a debt ceiling bill — have asked for the two to go hand in hand.